Gila Regional Medical Center (GRMC), TriState CareFlight (TSCF) and Elite Medical Transport are pleased to announce their new partnership, which is expected to vastly improve life-saving air medical services to the residents of Silver City and the surrounding areas.

"This newest agreement allows emergency medical services in the Grant County region to streamline the transport process to provide a heightened efficiency in our response times," said John Cole, director of business development for TriState CareFlight, which is headquartered in Bullhead City, Ariz. "We're pleased to be able to continue to offer the highest quality of critical care transport services to the people living in rural southwest New Mexico."

A multi-disciplinary team made up of an Emergency Department Physician, EMS Director, AVP of Nursing, GRMC's Chief Operations Officer and Chief Executive Officer completed a rigorous evaluation and selection process and chose TSCF to provide access to helicopter, airplane or ground transport through a single dispatch system. The selection decision was based on quality, safety, service, billing practices and the price charged to the community.

"This First Right of Refusal agreement with TriState CareFlight will benefit our community in multiple ways, " said Dan Otero, Chief Operations Officer. "Quality and Safety are of utmost importance to our organization. TriState CareFlight has developed an integrated and comprehensive Safety Management System which includes operational process documentation, monitoring, measuring and analysis for continuous improvement. The agreement goes into effect on November 1, 2014."

TSCF will base an Agusta Power 109 in Silver City to respond to medical transport needs. The twin-engine aircraft is the fastest air medical helicopter in New Mexico able to land on scene and transport patients between facilities. The aircraft can also accommodate one family member who may need to travel with the patient.

"We are excited to strengthen our relationship with TriState," said Rob Campion, president of Elite, which is based in El Paso, Texas. "Elite Medical Transport also commends Gila Regional's efforts to improve medical transportation services to the people of Grant County."

TriState CareFlight is a helicopter and fixed wing EMS company. The company was founded in 2002 with a single aircraft based in Bullhead City. It has since grown to service the majority of the Southwest US with more than 25 aircraft throughout the region. TriState CareFlight's primary mission is to rapidly transport critically ill and injured patients for health care facilities and EMS agencies while providing the highest level of care available.

Elite Medical Transport is a fixed-wing (airplane) and ground based medical transport service. The company was founded in 2002 with a focus on helping rural communities be able to transport patients in a timely and cost effective manner. Today the company operates more than twenty ambulances and two aircraft from locations in Carlsbad, Deming and El Paso. Elite Medical Transport performs over 12,000 patient transports annually. The company is focused on helping patient, physicians and hospitals find solutions to complex transportation problems with emphasis on quality and affordability.

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